A Crumbling Wall
by Kibaikasu
Summary: I LIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! I'm finally back with my first FF8 fic. What will happen between Squall and Rinoa when Squall gets hurt? Why, sensless waff of course. Squinoa! Please rr!


Final Fantasy VIII: A Crumbling Wall 

By: Hell Stalker

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing!

An alternate ending. Takes place during the party at the end of the game, then continues on afterwards.

Squall sighed. The pain in his heart was trying to overwhelm him again, trying to make him cry, to make him suffer. 'I won't let it,' he thought. He shut himself down. He felt his agony, his worries, his heartaches freeze over. He also felt an overwhelming feel of depression surge through his body and heart.

Everything with Ultimecia was over and done with, but the damage couldn't be unmade. He saw all those people die during Galbadia's attack, and he saw all of the corpses of the dead SeeD's. It was just to overwhelming. 'No, I won't cry. I won't show weakness. I can't stay here, I'll lose it at any moment.' He got up and snuck into the ballroom. He spotted Selphie playing around with a video recorder. 

'No way I'd get caught dead on her home movies,' he thought.

He then spotted Rinoa looking outside the balcony where he just came out of.

Rinoa. The mere mention of her name turned his world upside down. She was… something else, that was for sure.

He smiled a rare smile. Shaking his head in disbelief, he made his way to the doors and exited the ballroom. 

As he walked towards the dormitory his thoughts were running wild, and he wasn't liking it.

'Maybe I could let out some frustration down at the Training Center,' he thought.

He reached his dormitory and changed, grabbed his Lion Heart, and left for the training center.

'Thank Hyne for the new monsters,' he thought.

The Garden had been allowed to bring in some new monsters including Malboro and the NEW big dog in town, the Ruby Dragon. 

Squall walked around and spotted two Malboro's. He quickly cast Reflect on himself before they could do Bad Breath on him. He then quickly finished them off by casting Cerberus and then a Triple Ultima on them.

Moving along he spotted a Ruby Dragon feasting on the corpse of a dead T-Rexaur.

The Ruby Dragon spotted him and forgot about his dinner and attacked him. Squall cast Haste on himself… only to be reflected onto the dragon.

'Shit!,' he thought. This was not good. He quickly cast a Dispel on himself to rid himself of the Reflect just as Ruby Dragon unleashed Meteor on him. He got pounded by rocks. He then cast Triple, followed by Curaga, Haste, and Aura. Then the Ruby Dragon unleashed his deadly Breath attack.

Squall's eye's widened as he tried to side-step it, but the fire caught him in the chest before he could do nothing.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he yelled in pain and frustration as his HP went down from 8897 went down to 990. Tears of pain were rolling down his cheek. He slumped up and in a fury of pain and emotion he executed his limit break.

"RENZOKUKEN!" he cried out as he slashed the hell away at the dragon. He then stepped back and yelled out "LION HEART!" and executed his ultimate move to finish off the Ruby Dragon.

It died instantly.

After the battle he used an X-Potion, but it only restored his HP. He was still badly burned.

'Damn, this sucks,' he thought through the pain. His gashes were now bleeding freely, though not a lot.

He quickly rushed to his dormitory, careful to avoid any human contact when possible. 

Once he reached it he pulled off his jacket and shirt, which was now covered in blood, cleaned it in the showers while howling in pain, and quickly pulled out his first-aid kit. He quickly pulled out some herbs that he had put in there and crushed them until they were a fine powder. He then got a large amount of disinfectant gel and applied it through pain beyond pain.

He then sprinkled all the powder on his chest and bandaged it heavily.

The pain subsided over the week, and he still tried his best to avoid all contact possible. His gashes weren't that big anymore as the powdered herbs did their job slowly, but surely.

Then one day he was walking towards the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat when he spotted Rinoa and Selphie walking towards him talking to themselves. Selphie was the first to see him.

"SQUALLY!" she yelled in delight and she jumped up and gave him a monster bear hug from behind(ouch).

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" howled Squall as the pain of his chest wound surged into his body at lightning speed nearly overtaking him into darkness. Nearly. He threw Selphie off of him. "DON'T DO THAT!" he yelled as he placed a hand to his gashes. When he looked at them, they were stained with blood.

"Squall, are you okay?" asked Rinoa in a worried tone of voice.

"GET AWAY!" he yelled as he stumbled back out of Rinoa's reach and quickly raced towards his dorm.

"What happened to him?" asked Rinoa.

"I don't know, I just OH MY GOD HE'S BLEEDING!" she yelled, taking a look at her hand. Rinoa took a look as well, and saw that it was drenched in blood.

"Oh… oh Hyne," whispered Rinoa as she rushed after Squall.

"SEFIE! INFORM THE INFIRMARY THAT SQUALL'S HURT!" she yelled back.

"Shit," cursed Squall. He had herd Rinoa yell out towards Selphie, and he didn't like it. 

He rushed to his dorm and locked himself in. He quickly took out his first-aid kit when he herd a big BANG!

"What the…"

"SLEEP!" he herd Rinoa yell.

Squall instantly fell into a deep slumber.

Rinoa stepped over the blasted remains of Squall's door. She hated to do that, but didn't have a choice.

She went over to Squall and pulled his shirt up.

"Oh Hyne no…" she whimpered as she saw the bandages which were stained with blood and getting worse.

She quickly cast Regen on him and conjured up a stretcher with her sorceress powers. She then used a float on Squall to get him on the stretcher and cast Haste on herself. She then made the stretcher float and tailed Squall over to the infirmary.

Squall grunted as he finally came back to the world of the living. He squinted and tried to see where he was at. A look around told him all he needed to know: he was at the Infirmary.

'Damn, I really didn't want to come over here,' he thought.

"Squall? You awake?" asked Ms. Kadowaki.

"Yeah," said Squall as he sat up. He felt some pain, but not much. He checked himself out and saw that the gashes were nearly gone.

"Gashes made by a Ruby Dragon. I'm amazed that you survived," she went on, scowling at him as he got up.

"Don't worry doc, I'm made of sturdier stuff than most of the students," he said. He mentally slapped himself for sounding like Seifer there.

"Yes well you should still be careful when you train young man. I don't know how you were able to treat the wounds yourself, but they were bad and could've cause some serious complications had Rinoa not informed me and brought you here," explained Kadowaki.

Rinoa. Damn it all. Out of all people it had to be her to find out about my incident.

"Whatever. I'm feeling better, so if it's alright with you, I'll be going now," he said, grabbing his nearby jacket.

"Just train lightly until the wounds fully heal," she warned. "And by the way, you were out for three days, so don't get confused if some of your friends get freaked out by your appearance."

"Yeah well, thanks for the warning," said Squall.

He exited the infirmary. Good, no one was there. He made his way towards his dorm. He grabbed his Lion Heart and then proceeded to go to the training center. He made his way towards the middle, then too off his jacket and shirt, now seeing that the cuts and gashes weren't visible, although he was still burnt and had what looked like a sunburn to anyone else.

He stood in a ready position, then proceeded to begin a complex kata using the Lion Heart as a center. He was no longer on Earth, but was in a world of his own. His Gunblade wasn't just a weapon anymore, it was an attachment. It was an extension of his arm. His mind was at ease as he went throughout the complexities of his kata, a kata that he remembered from long ago, although were was still uncertain. 

Finally, the kata was over. He slowed down, until he was in the same ready position he was when he started.

He assumed another position and was about to start a different kata when he herd his name being called.

"Squall!" yelled Rinoa. He turned around to see Rinoa coming out of the Secret Area in the back of the center. She rushed to him and hugged him lightly yet firmly.

Tears of relief were running down her cheek as she sobbed into his chest.

Squall felt a dull pain, but nothing he couldn't suck up. He hugged her in return, only to find her breaking it and slapping him in the face.

"DON'T YOU EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN SQUALL LEONHART!" she yelled. "DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU COULD'VE BEEN KILLED FIGHTING A RUBY DRAGON ON YOUR OWN?! WELL, DID YOU?! THAT WAS A DUMB MOVE AND I… I…" she couldn't go on as she caught a glimpse of his eyes.

Pain. Unimaginable pain could be seen. She had just torn down Squall's wall and he didn't even realize that she had just done so.

Pain, depression, anguish, longing, fear, and other emotions that weren't so clear were evident all at once.

Squall realized what happened and he started to shut down again. He tried desperately to freeze everything over again, but Rinoa was instantly on him.

She didn't try to apologize, but rather thought on impulse and found herself kissing him passionately.

He was so stunned that everything he had worked over, every ounce of emotional protection he had made had instantly melted into tears behind the warmth of her lips. He started kissing back, hard, as if he needed those lips to survive, to exist. He tried to suck the life out of Rinoa, tried to rip her tongue out as he caressed it with his own.

Eventually, Squall had no choice but to breath, so he broke the kiss for air, only to be met by more of what he craved. The passion between them was at a climax. They were lost in their own world, a world of pleasure that they never even knew existed. They were so hard on each other that it looked like they were trying to merge their faces into one. The excitement between the little kisses and the long kisses was at an overwhelming height.

By now they were lying down on the dirt and getting dirty (not that way hentai's!) and barely force themselves to stop and get up.

"Wow…" was all that Squall managed to get out. Rinoa was as red as a tomato now that she was thinking properly. The heat died down as Squall grinned a rare grin at her.

"Thanks," he said as he put his shirt and jacket back on.

"For what?" she asked.

"For showing me how to live again," he said as he kissed her once again. 

He walked her to her dorm and bid her goodnight as he went to his own.

He couldn't go to sleep. His thoughts wouldn't let him. He felt too tense, too restless. He found himself once again going to the Training Center with no one but Lion Heart to keep him company. He went to his usual spot and started going through all of his kata's once again. This time he found no interruption with the exception of a Treppie's checking up on everything. 

He finally felt a serge of sleeplessness go over him. He was drenched in sweat from going through all of the kata's non-stop.

'Guess I'll shower and go to bed,' he thought. He put his shirt on and left the center, careful to run from any big monster.

He started for the dormitories when he herd a sneering voice behind him.

"Well, well, look at who the cat dragged in. And what are you doing out past curfew Puberty Boy?"

'Damn that Seifer.' "If you must know, I'm couldn't sleep so I went to the Training Center to blow some steam and I'm currently on my way back to take a shower and hit the sack. IF that's all right with you all mighty and wise leader," he said sarcastically.

"Look, I just wanted to finish what I started," said Seifer, a sneer visible on his face. "Remember our little duel earlier this year? I want to finish it say… after breakfast tomorrow outside the Garden?" he said.

Squall thought about it and nodded.

"Very well then. I'll be glad to give you some new scars and bruises," he said.

Seifer chuckled at that comment. "We'll see Leonhart, we'll see."

Morning and breakfast went by without much happening. Later, Squall managed to slip from the gaze and thoughts of the Orphanage gang. That didn't include Rinoa, as she spotted Squall hurrying towards the exit of the Garden. 

'What's he up to?' she thought.

"It's about time you showed up Puberty Boy," said Seifer.

"Sorry I'm late, but I had a bit of trouble ditching the gang," said Squall with a wicked smile on his face. Seifer recognized it instantly: the very same smirk he gave him right before he gave Squall his scar. 'He's hiding something,' he realized.

He grabbed Hyperion and stood in his fighting position. Squall took off his jacket and stood in his fighting stance with Lion Heart.

"Well," said Squall. "Ready when you are."

Seifer then charged, Squall running at him as well. Squall let the tip of Lion Heart drag on the rocky floor, making it leave a trail of sparks as he ran.

Gunblade met gunblade as the duel got off to a earth-shattering start. Squall cast Triple on himself just as Seifer used an Ultima spell on him. Squall's HP went down, but not by too much. Seifer could obviously see that he had some new junctions on that made him resistant to that spell. Squall then cast Protect, Curaga, and Shell in that order all at once, putting him back to full health. Seifer then cast Protect on himself as Squall started the charge once again. The two forces clashed as the battle continued.

Rinoa looked around the entrance. 'Damn, lost his trail," she thought. Suddenly, she felt the earth shake. A visible ball of black energy could be seen right outside Garden: an Ultima spell.

She quickly rushed to see Squall and Seifer dueling. 

'Damn it! Why didn't Squall tell me that he was fighting Seifer?' she thought as she watched the fight, keeping her distance as she sought to watch over her knight. 

Squall and Seifer stumbled back. It was an even contest, but then Squall smirked again. Seifer was caught off-guard by this and as a result he never noticed Squall's move until it was too late.

Squall concentrated and Drew an Aura spell and cast it on himself.

'Shit!' thought Seifer as he cast an Aura on himself as well.

"So it's like THAT, eh?" he asked as they both felt the pain and fury from their weary bodies. The Aura certainly helped them as they reached their final limits.

With that, crackling red lightning appeared around the both of them as they both executed their limit breaks.

"NO MERCY!"

"LION HEART!"

They rushed at each other and a blinding flash of light blinded Rinoa and anyone else watching the fight.

Once the light cleared, Seifer and Squall were on opposite ends, nursing different and various wounds. Rinoa gasped. He did it again. Squall hurt himself again the day after he promised he wouldn't.

They both got up and stood the best they could.

"Nice move… Leonhart but… it'll take more than that… to put me down," he gasped, smirking a bloody smirk.

"Then… I guess you'll just… have to be the first victim… of my new Limit Break," gasped Squall through the pain.

Seifer was taken aback as Squall's Lion Heart started vibrating a deep blue and started glowing very brightly.

Squall then gave a mighty war cry and charged at Seifer.

"MYSTIC LINK!" he yelled as he appeared to move so fast that he split into two. The duo-Squalls charged Seifer down and slashed upward right through him. Seifer gasped as he felt Lion Heart cut through his stomach and face, giving him yet another scar and thereby making a huge X right between his eyes. The gash on his stomach wasn't deep, and he automatically knew that Squall held back on purpose.

Seifer slumped down to the ground, the pain in his body knocking him the hell out.

The copy of Squall vanished as he keeled over himself. He then herd a rush. 'Damn, we had an audience,' he thought painfully as he used a two Curaga's and a Dispel, followed by an Esuna just to be safe. His wounds closed some and were now the size of large paper cuts.

He stood up, but fell back down. That new limit break took a lot out of him: the Mystic Link was a very powerful and energy-consuming attack. It took all of his will power just to hold back enough to make sure that he didn't cut Seifer in half.

He was so tired that he couldn't even open his eyes. He huffed as he was out of breath and soon, as a result of the restless night he had, he fell into a deep slumber right then and there…

As Squall came too, he found the light painfully bright as he heard worried voices. 

"Will he be alright doctor?" he herd one voice he recognized as Selphie.

"He's just tired. My guess is that he used up so much energy during the fight that his body just couldn't carry on and he fell asleep," he herd Dr. Kadowaki say.

"I just don't understand why he didn't warn us," sobbed another voice full of anguish. Rinoa's.

Squall's breathing sharpened and it caught everyone's attention. He then grunted in pain as he tried to open his eyes, but found the light too bright. He turned away and let his eyes adjust to the settings inside the Infirmary. Seifer could be spotted on the other bed, still out cold.

"What… happened," yawned Squall. He felt really tired at the moment: a side-effect from his new and still-experimental Limit Break.

"You fell asleep right after you tried to get up after the fight with Seifer," said Selphie.

"You guys saw that?" asked Squall as he got up and fell back down due to dizziness. 

"You should stay down Squall, you're not a full health yet," said Kadowaki.

"Don't worry doc. It's just a side effect from my new Limit Break. It goes away after a little while," he said as he tried once again, and this time succeeded, to get up and stretch his body.

"Yes, well, I'm just simply amazed at how much energy went behind that attacked you used… what's it called again…"

"The Mystic Link. It's still very experimental and could've killed Seifer hadn't I fought tooth and nail to hold back some of the damage that it would've done. The attack is meant to run an enemy through and cut them in half at a speed so great that it looks like you've multiplied into two people," he explained.

Zell understood it the fastest, his limit, My Final Heaven, was similar to Squall's new one in the sense of speed.

After stretching a bit Squall asked if he could check out yet.

"Not yet. I want you to perform your new Limit Break here, so that I can test the side effects so as to prevent this from occurring in the near-future," said Kadowaki.

He grinned as he grabbed his Lion Heart. Kadowaki handed him an Aura Stone. He used it and instantly powered up. 

"Now I want you to slice through this block of adamantine," said Kadowaki. It's 20 inches thick, so I think it's safe for you to go all-out on it.

"Right," said Squall as he concentrated all the anguish of his life into Lion Heart. It started pulsing and glowing bright blue again.

"Mystic LINK!" he yelled as he charged so fast his form split into two. The two Squall's slashed through the adamantine like it was paper. The second Squall disappeared as he stood in the same position.

Then, to everyone's surprise, the block split not in half, but into four, like in an X form. It was cut as it really were two Squall's that attacked it.

"Wow…" was the one word that everyone said.

"See, I told…" he stopped as he felt a sudden jolt of dizziness. He grabbed the desk to avoid slumping down to the floor. He knew he would be out for days if he got that far.

"Hmm, I see," noted Dr. Kadowaki as she made a few notes. "Well, I'll have to study this information and see if I can come up with anything. In the meantime, don't use that technique unless it's life or death, got it?" she warned.

"Sure thing doc," he responded.

He and the group left.

"Guys, I haven't gotten much sleep, so if you don't mind, I think I'll go take a nap," said Squall, feeling tired.

"Sure thing Squall, I think that's what you need the most right now," said Selphie, who was trying her best to keep from bouncing all around at the moment.

"I'll walk you," said Rinoa.

"…whatever," responded Squall.

The trip was short, but Rinoa insisted that she stayed until he fell asleep.

"Why thought," asked Squall.

"To make sure you don't make a trip to the Training Center behind all our backs," scowled Rinoa.

"Yes teacher, I'll be good," said Squall in an awfully childish manner.

Rinoa gasped. "Squall Leonhart, was that humor coming out of you?" she questioned.

"You'd be surprised at to what I know concerning humor," said Squall. "I wasn't always like…" he forced himself to stop. 'Damn, I said too much,' he thought.

"What do you mean. You weren't always like what?" asked Rinoa.

"Forget it, it's not important," he said. Before Rinoa said anything against it, he quickly said, "I'm going to the bathroom to change. Stay put," he said. He grabbed some spare clothing and went into the bathroom. He came out wearing nothing but a black shirt and black boxers. Rinoa blushed at the sight. Squall eyed her.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, now noticing the impulses of the previous night flowing to the surface.

Squall immediately noticed this and grinned an evil grin.

"You know, in combat class teachers show you how to read an opponents face and features, allowing you to read them," he said.

"Yeah, so," she asked nervously.

"I know what you're thinking right now," he said as he walked up to her. "I know that you haven't been able to stop thinking about last night," he said.

She gasped. 'Damn, right on the money,' she thought. "What's it to you," she said, trying her best to glare daggers at him, but only able glare blunt Popsicle sticks at him.

"Because I haven't been able to stop thinking about that night either," he said.

Before she could say anything else, Squall was on her just like she was on him. He found himself kissing the life out of her, and she appeared to be complying happily. She was kissing him back with every ounce of passion that she could muster.

'I won't let you suffer anymore Squall. You'll be happy with me love.'

Squall stopped abruptly. "Say what?"

She eep'ed. "I said that out loud?!"

He smiled. "Don't worry, I feel the same way," he said as he resumed his previous activity. She once again found herself lost in his lips, his breath, and his life force.

'Hyne, I want him, but what if… what if… oh to hell with the consequences, I just want him,' she thought as she dragged him down to the bed. 

Well, ***cough***, they sure as hell didn't get much sleep now did they?

The End.

  
  
Authors Notes: Well, what did you think? It's my first Final Fantasy 8 fic. I personally think it could've faired better, but then again, I'm more used to Ranma and Dragonball Z fics so don't blame me if it's bad. Blame my inexperience. I just finished beating the game myself, and now I would like to elaborate that most of my FF8 fics MIGHT contain spoilers for certain parts have you not beaten the game. So what did you think of this one? I just might write a sequel if you review enough. Lets see… *counts fingers*… about fifteen reviews should do it for this one, so come on! Get reviewing already. And as always, I'll be watching you…


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